Quadrupole Effect on the Heat Conductivity of Cold Glasses

Abstract

At very low temperatures, the tunnelling theory for amorphous solids predicts a thermal conductivity $\kappa\propto T^p$, with $p = 2$. We have studied the effect of the Nuclear Quadrupole moment on the thermal conductivity of glasses at very low temperatures. We developed a theory that couples the tunnelling motion to the nuclear quadrupoles moment in order to evaluate the thermal conductivity. Our result suggests a cross over between two different regimes at the temperature close to the nuclear quadrupoles energy. Below this temperature we have shown that the thermal conductivity is larger than the standard tunneling result and therefore we have $p < 2$. However, for temperatures higher than the nuclear quadrupoles energy, the result of standard tunnelling model has been found.